What Is Jeremy Hiding?
by WishingDreamer5
Summary: Six years after that memorable summer holiday, Candace and Jeremy are still together, but Candace just knows that Jeremy and her brothers are hiding something for her. It drives her crazy. She's determined to find out what it is. Needless to say, she'll be very surprised once she realizes what's really happening...
1. Problems, Suspicion and Nostalgia

**A/N: This is my first attempt at writing a Phineas and Ferb story, or, to be more precisely, some CandacexJeremy. It takes place six years after the actual cartoon. Candace is 21 years old, Jeremy 22, and Phineas and Ferb are 16. Enjoy. ;)**

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_~ "The best answers we find on our own," was all the green-haired teen said. ~_

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On an early sunday afternoon, Phineas and Ferb were both sitting quietly under the oak tree in their garden, simply enjoying the nice weather and singing of the birds. The air smelled like freshly cut grass and some flowers Phineas didn't know the name of. It smelled nice, though, creating a special, soothing aroma. For him, this was how the beginning of the summer should smell.

It was summer vacation in Danville, 33 Celcius degrees to be more exact, and, more importantly, summer holiday. Their parents weren't home at this moment, because they were spending the day together. Normally, boys and girls of their age would be enjoying themselves on the beach, or in a swimming pool. Especially when it was a hot day. These teens were anything but normal, though, with their incredible capability to invent anything they desired. That was why they were waiting for inspiration to strike them. Inspiration for what they could do today.

"I love summer, but you know, sometimes I really miss those old days, when we would invent cool gadgets and other pretty useful stuff. Those were good times," Phineas admitted, as he wiped some newly formed sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

Phineas wondered briefly if the heat bothered Ferb just as much as it did to him. If it did, he didn't show much of it.

Ferb said nothing, but Phineas knew his brother long enough to notice that he agreed with him. For Phineas, his silence said it all and Ferb's silences had many meanings. Phineas knew everything about them by now.

"Problem is, we've already built everything we could possibly think of and nobody will enjoy it if we build the same thing twice. I really wish someone could give us a good idea."

Once again, Ferb said nothing, merely listening. It was a silent invitation for his brother to continue. An invitation Phineas gladly took.

"Well, the only thing we haven't done yet is dye your hair red and mine green. So...how 'bout that?"

Phineas was half-joking here. Keyword: half, because he had to admit that he was slightly curious at the outcome of that. However, Ferb obviously thought this idea was so stupid that he didn't even bother to give Phineas one of his infamous_ looks, _but nevertheless, his brother took the hint.

"Nah, you're right. That's probably the most absurd thing I've ever said. Well, if I don't count that time where I said that Perry was a secret-"

It was just then that the two teenagers noticed that their neighbour, who also happened to be their sister's beloved boyfriend, had opened their garden gate. He approached them quietly. He looked like something was bothering him terribly. Phineas could see that from the frown on his face. Jeremy hardly ever frowned. Was it just him, or did the poor guy look very tired? Phineas wondered briefly what had happened. Did it have something to do with his sister?

When the young man looked up, he spoke, managing to form a small smile on his lips. That smile wasn't fooling them, though.

"Hi Phineas, Ferb."

Ferb nodded curtly at him as a greet. After all, he had never been much of a talker and the fact that Jeremy was dating his stepsister didn't change that. People who didn't know Ferb would probably think that he was one of those incredibly moody and anti-social teenagers. Obviously, Jeremy didn't see it that way.

"Hey, Jeremy. What brings you here?" Phineas asked, rather cheerfully. In a slightly teasing tone he continued, "Can't live too long without Candace, huh?"

He was more than glad that there had come a sort of distraction in the form of Jeremy. Said man sighed wearily, while running a hand through his blonde locks. This made it look all tangled up. Candace probably would have squealed or something, if she had been here. Phineas couldn't help but smile at that thought.

"Well, I have a little problem," he admitted, sighing again.

At once, Phineas's face fell.

Oh, that wasn't good, he thought.

"What is it? Is everything okay between you and Candace?" Phineas asked, swiftly.

A frown was about to appear on his face, but Jeremy quickly replied with, "Oh, yes. Everything's great. Don't worry about that. But uh...look."

The man now pulled something small out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. It was a small, navy-colored, box, decorated with a curly, light blue ribbon on it. It fitted right in his hand.

"Oh, what's that?" Phineas asked, curiously.

Jeremy didn't reply, but carefully opened the little box to show its contents to the brothers. Instantly, Ferb's brows shot up in surprise, at the sight of it.

"Whoa, is that...?" Phineas asked, in awe.

Both Phineas's and Ferb's eyes had grown the size of saucers at the sight.

"Yeah, and that's why I need your help, guys. You think you can help me with it?"

"Sure! Do you have something in mind already?" Phineas asked, smiling brightly now.

Phineas's happiness seemed to be contagious, because Jeremy smiled a little too. It looked more like he was a little nervous, though.

Jeremy nodded and replied, "Yes, I do, but it isn't that easy. And please don't tell Candace anything about this."

From that point, Jeremy started whispering so Candace wouldn't walk in on them and hear them. The brothers had to come closer to him so they wouldn't miss any information.

What they didn't know was that Candace just happened to look at them from her bedroom window. She frowned slightly, wondering what Jeremy was talking about with her brothers. Just when she wanted to open the window and call out Jeremy's name to get his attention, she saw him leaving again.

"Huh? That's strange. He didn't even come here to see me? Why?" she muttered.

She was slightly confused, because in six years, Jeremy had never done such a thing. And then there was the fact that he had been very silent for the past few days. What could that mean?

Meanwhile, Phineas said, "Hey Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today."

And with that, the two got up from under the tree to do whatever they were going to do.

Just then, another thought occured to Phineas.

"Hey, where's Perry?" he wondered.

He looked around, but Ferb nudged his brother with his elbow and pointed to the tree. Phineas squinted until he spotted the platypus, lying on the grass and looking almost lifeless. If he hadn't made a sound just that moment, Phineas would probably have thought that he wasn't breathing at all.

"Oh. There he is. Hmm...he probably thinks it's too warm to move around much. Can't blame the poor thing. And now that that's taken care of, let's go. We should hurry up now. We wouldn't want to spoil the fun for those two, right?"

* * *

Candace paced her room, going back and forth and hands folded neatly behind her back. She didn't seem to notice herself, but she was quickening her pace more and more as time passed and darker thoughts burdened her mind.

It seemed that Jeremy was hiding something. What could it be? Why was he hiding it from her? He had been so withdrawn the last time she had spoken to him. Another thing that Canadace had noticed was that he didn't reply her text messages as quick as he used to do. Normally, he would reply within ten, sometimes even five minutes. As of lately, he almost needed twice as much time to do so, while her text messages hadn't become longer than her previous ones...that much.

"Hmm...maybe Stacy knows what to do."

Candace took her mobile phone from her nightstand and immediately dialed her best friend's number. She waited impatiently till she picked up. Waiting had never really been her thing.

"Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up!" she chanted.

A click was heared, and shortly after that, "_Stacy speaking?"_

"At last! Honestly, what took you so long to pick up?" Candace didn't give her the chance to respond to that. "Anyways, I think we have a problem."

_"Let me guess, your brothers are planning to make your life miserable again by building random things that mysteriously disappear whenever you tell your mom about it?"_

It was a good thing that Candace didn't know how her friend tried not to snicker, otherwise she would've exploded.

"No, it's Jeremy!" she replied.

_"Oh. Yeah, that was my second guess."_

Candace rolled her eyes, but chose to ignore that last comment.

"He's...been acting really weird lately."

_"Oh? How weird? Weird as in only texting you 19 times a day, instead of 21? Or weird as in acting like a mute zebra?"_

For a moment, the redhead was at a loss of words, wondering where _that _had come from. Sure, Stacy was a little weird sometimes, but this didn't even make sense anymore.

"Actually, it's neither of them," the woman replied, twirling a strand of red hair around her fingers.

She always did that when she was worried, or nervous, or near a mental breakdown, because her brothers had decided to create something weird. Candace breathed in and out and then started to tell Stacy what bothered her.

* * *

Once again, Candace started pacing the room. It was something she seemed to be doing a lot lately. She was worried beyond belief, but not without a reason.

_Why_ was he late? Jeremy _never_ was too late, because Jeremy, the gentleman that he was, knew that one shouldn't let a lady wait too long. It was wrong in many ways. Candace was worried. No, worried was an understatement. She was more likely about to call the police. She kept on wondering this, to the point of getting crazy. Had it something to do with why he hadn't called her yet, or why he visited her brothers, but not her?

She had called Stacy shortly after this incident, because Stacy always knew what to do in situations like this. Surprisingly, the call hadn't lasted that long. Her best friend's reaction hadn't made her happy, though.

_"I would watch out for more suspicious actions if I were you. Who knows, maybe he has someone else and he plans to break up with you,"_ Stacy had said.

Could that be true? After being happy with each other for six years already? Sure, their relationship had had its ups and downs, but didn't all relationships have that? Even Mom and Dad weren't always super-duper happy. Although, now that she thought of it...

Candace sighed and collapsed on the couch, looking defeated. Her own thoughts were driving her nuts, as always. She felt miserable and she was pretty sure that anyone could see that from her facial expression.

_Look at me. I'm only 21, but if I continue like this I bet I'm going to catch gray hair on my head soon_, she thought.

The thought alone made something twist and knot painfully inside of her.

"Relax, Candace. Jeremy will be here very soo-" Phineas started, but he never got the chance to finish his sentence, for his sister turned to face him and interrupted him.

"What if something happened to him? What if he got hit by a bus or something? I mean, I've been waiting for..." here, she looked at her watch and continued, "Two minutes and 47 seconds!"

Phineas smiled at that. If Candace only knew the real reason of why he was a little late, then she would have acted...very different.

"What are you smirking at?" she suddenly snapped, slightly irritably.

"Oh. Uh, well..." Phineas shrugged, not knowing what to say now.

He had promised Jeremy not to tell Candace anything, so he tried to come up with a believable lie. Phineas started to scratch the back of his head, sheepishly.

Apparently, that was some sign for Candace, because the next thing she said (sounding suspicious like heck) was, "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"What? No, of course not. How could I hide somthing from you?"

Phineas glanced over at Ferb for some back-up and their eyes met almost instantly.

"The best answers we find on our own," was all the green-haired teen said, now looking back at his sister.

This earned the green-haired teen a blank stare that would even put a blank sketchbook to shame from both of his siblings. Ferb merely blinked a couple of times. He either didn't know what to say else, or didn't really bother to do so.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Candace asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

This time, even Phineas had no answer to her question, because he wondered that, too. Apparently, Ferb had gone back into his not-so-talkative-mood again, which didn't help at all. Candace shook her head, eyeing both of them for a long time. Then, she sighed, wearily.

"Brothers. Does every sister have to deal with this? No. Do_ I_ have to deal with this? Of course! You'd think I'd have better things to do and more important things to worry about. Every single day it's one thing after another. But do Mom and Dad see it? No. Do they get in trouble? No. Honestly, I-" their sister started muttering, but at that moment, the bell rang.

Candace's eyes widened and she shrieked, while racing to the door at the same time.

"Phooh! Saved by the bell," Phineas muttered, relieved. "Seriously, at times like this, Candace kinda scares me."

It was a good thing that this wasn't a family thing, Phineas thought. He chose deliberately not to share his thoughts about this matter, just in case Candace would come back at that same time and hear him saying something that might cost his life. After all, he couldn't die before he had seen Candace's reaction when she found out about Jeremy's secret, right?

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Please review, if you feel like it. This is my sixth entry for Bookaholic711's Project PULL. By the way, do you agree with me that Ferb always says things that make me think something along the lines of what the heck? :)**


	2. Something Special

**A/N: Wow, thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites so far! It's really appreciated. I really hadn't expected to get this many for my first P&F story. :D And sorry for the late update. Life's busy. As some of you may or may not have noticed, I changed some things in the previous chapter. It's almost twice as long now. Heheh...oops! Anyways, I hope that this chapter isn't too cheesy. It was a little hard to write. Enjoy. ;)**

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_~ "I bet you're quite nervous now, huh?" ~_

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Now, if there had been any other woman in Candace's place, then they would just be glad that their boyfriend still showed up, not even being too late. Because honestly, what was five minutes? Exactly, nothing. Especially not when you compared it with how long some other girls had to wait for their boyfriend to show up.

Heck, they would even be glad that they were lucky enough to actually _have_ a boyfriend who still wanted to put up with a drama queen like them. However, everyone knew that Candace wasn't just your average girl. She was different. This meant that other thoughts were crossing her mind that moment, and they weren't necessarily pleasant, or anything.

_I'll show him. There's no way he can escape this easily from ignoring me earlier today and then daring to come late after that, too_, Candace thought, rather ticked off.

"Jeremy Johnson, what in the _world_ took you so-" she started impatiently, as soon as she opened the door.

She wasn't able to end her sentence, though, because the sight in front of her made her tomporarily forget how to talk, let alone close her mouth. It felt like there was a short circuit in her brains. It was all because the Jeremy she had planned to yell at, was dressed in a black suit, with a matching bow tie. She gasped, softly but still audibly.

"Hey, Candace," Jeremy said kindly after a short moment of silence between them.

His voice did it. It made Candace forget that she was actually very mad at him. In fact, she was melting from the inside. Jeremy had a calm and somewhat neutral expression on his face, which was a good thing...or was it?

Maybe he looked calm from the outside, but was pretty nervous from the inside, because he was about to break up with her. Or even worse: tell her that he had been seeing someone else for quite a time now and that this relationship just couldn't work any longer...but that they could still be friends, or something.

Like she was going to say yes to that one. Breaking up with someone and then say that they could still be friends was like your dog just died...and you mom says that you can still keep it. What was the purpose of that?

_No candace, stop it! Don't do down that road...again. Honestly, what is it with me and negative thoughts today?_

"...Hi."

"I'm sorry I'm a little later. I uh...had some difficulties finding something I needed for tonight," Jeremy admitted, scratching the back of his head rather sheepishly.

When Candace didn't do or say anything else anymore, Jeremy stepped forward. He put one arm around her and pulled her to him in a hug. Then, he stepped away from her and eyed her from a distance, becoming worried by her lack of enthousiasm...or any reaction at all.

"Candace, are you okay?"

Almost as though someone had snapped their fingers in front of her eyes, she seemed to wake up from the trance she was momentarily put in. Jeremy was still looking at her, awaiting an answer.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Come in. I guess you're here for Phineas? Or is it Ferb this time?" she asked, stepping away slightly so he could enter the house.

Jeremy gave her a funny look.

"What? No, not really. I mean, why would I want to see them, when I can be with you?" he asked, surprised.

This was certainly an "Aww-moment" for Candace, but she tried not to get carried away. She was about to answer his question, when she noticed something else. Something peculiar.

"What are you holding behind your back?"

Her tone was sceptical again. Frankly, she wouldn't be surprised if it was a time bomb, because when you had grown up with brothers like that, there were hardly any moments that you get surprised by something.

"Oh, this is for you," Jeremy replied.

A beautiful red rose, in perfect shape, appeared from behind his back. He handed it to Candace and she took it from out of his hands, looking up at him.

"There's one more thing I need to ask from you," he whispered, smiling at her.

At once, her eyes widened with disbelieve. She knew it! It was all too good to be true.

What he did next, only surprised her more, though.

Slowly leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, "Before we go out, I'd like you to wear something special tonight."

"W-why?"

Jeremy smiled, mysteriously, before winking and replying with, "I'm afraid that's a surprise."

Candace blinked a couple of times. Then, she nodded, and headed straight to her room, which was upstairs. Jeremy decided to wait for her in the living-room, as he always did whenever she wasn't ready to go out with him yet.

"Hey Jeremy," Phineas said, smiling.

"Hey guys. Thanks again for your help. Without you two, this evening and everything I've planned wouldn't even have been possible."

Phineas waved it away, as if it was nothing (well, for him it really was nothing, because he would do just anything for his sister), before asking, "So, does Candace suspect anything yet?"

Jeremy smiled and shook his head.

"No, not at all. That's what surprised me the most. She's normally so sharp with such things. She does seem to be a bit...stressed out, though. At least, if that's the right word. I really hope she'll like it."

"Don't worry about that. She'll love it! I'm sure of that. Actually, Candace was almost panicking, because you came a little late, but I'm sure she'll start acting like her usual self as soon as she's downstairs again," Phineas spoke. He continued, after eyeing the young man, "I bet you're quite nervous now, huh?"

"Actually, yes. A little," Jeremy replied, truthfully. "But that's only healthy, right?"

Phineas laughed. He couldn't really blame the poor guy.

"If you say so. I honestly can't wait to see her face when the moment's there," Phineas spoke.

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Upstairs, in her room, Candace was standing in front of her closet. She was faced yet again with a serious problem. One that couldn't be solved just like that. In fact, it could easily ruin this evening and...whatever Jeremy had planned to do. On a scale of one to ten, this was...an 11. What should she wear?

Eventually, she decided to take all her clothes out of the closet and throw them on her bed. Maybe this way, she would find something suitable. Besides, it always worked in those chickflicks, so why wouldn't it work now, too?

Candace had to admit that she liked this new mysterious Jeremy, who seemed to be full of secrets all of a sudden. However, it made her a little suspicious towards him, too. Why did she keep having that strange feeling that Jeremy was a little nervous?

_"I would watch out for more suspicious actions if I were you. Who knows, maybe he has someone else and he plans to break up with you," _Stacy's words starting haunting her again.

"Candace, stop it, and Stacy, shut up! This is no good. I'd better find something nice to wear, and probably stop talking to myself soon, or else-"

The ringing of her mobile phone interrupted her sentence. She quickly fished it out of her pocket to answer it.

"Ugh, _now_ what?" she wondered, throwing her arms in the air in slight annoyance.

She was going to kill whoever this was. She saw it was Stacy and picked up.

"Candace speaking."

_"Hey, Candace. I was wondering, do you happen to know where I put my favorite lipgloss? You know, the one that tastes like cherry and raspberry? I think I left it somewhere in your room yesterday..."_

Candace swiftly looked around in her room.

After deciding that she had searched enough, she replied with, "No, I don't. It isn't here. But Stacy, I really need your help."

_"Oh, is it about-"_

"It's about Jeremy," Candace spoke, irritably. "He said I had to wear something special for tonight, but I have no idea what I should wear. I don't even know how 'special' I should get dressed, but he wore a suit. So...does that mean anything?"

She made wild gestures while explaining all this to her best friend.

"_Okay... I think he meant really special when he said special. So that has to be a dress. What about that one dress we bought together the other day? You know, the long, white, strapless one with glitters and stuff_," Stacy opted from the other side of the line.

Candace thought about her words for a while, before sighing and replying with, "I had actually saved that for when I was sure he would propose to me, but...if you're really sure of that, then I guess I should take this chance. Thanks, Stace. I can always count on you."

_"Good luck."_

"Thanks, Stacy. I'll call you later," Candace replied, before hanging up.

"Now, it's time for me to hurry up."

* * *

"Is she always taking this long to get ready?" Jeremy asked, looking at his watch for the umpteenth time.

"No. It normally takes her another twenty minutes, so you can relax," Phineas replied.

He had the remote in his hand, and started zapping from his favorite cartoon to a newsbreak.

"This had better be important if it makes us miss our favorite cartoon," Phineas muttered, putting the volume up some more.

His attention was back to the television again. Jeremy sighed. This waiting, it was slowly _killing _him.

_"-Breaking News! There has been an anonymous warning about some illegal..."_

Jeremy didn't pay any attention to what the young newsreader said anymore, because from the corner of his eyes he saw something white that descended the stairs. Her turned his head and his eyes widened instantly.

Candace had never looked this beautiful before. It took his breath away completely. She was dressed in a beautiful, long and white dress and her always straight locks had turned into soft curls. He got up from the comfortable sofa and walked to the hall.

"Candace, you look...beautiful!" he said.

Candace smiled at him.

"Thanks. And sorry for keeping you waiting this long."

Jeremy chuckled. "That's okay, Candace, because the ending result is great."

Candace blushed slightly.

"Hey! Where's Perry?" Phineas suddenly exclaimed.

They all looked around them, but couldn't see their beloved platypus anywhere.

That wasn't a wonder, though. As soon as they all had been engrossed by the breaking news, or, in Jeremy's case, by Candace's appearance, he had crept away. He was heading for the toilet now. After putting his black hat on, he jumped in it and flushed himself down the toilet. Why his boss hadn't chosen another way to the headquarters, he didn't know.

Major Monogram appeared in front of him, a middle aged man and head of the O.W.C.A.

"Ah, Agent P. I'll get straight to the point. According to our secret recources, Doofenshmirtz is up to something again. We don't know exactly what it is that he has been planning, but we do know that it involves lots of sky-rockets and other kind of possibly dangerous firework. So now it's all up to you to find that out and stop him, as always. I wish you good luck."

Perry nodded briefly and left, ready to stop the semi-evil professor once again. Too bad that he had to miss Jeremy's surprise for Candace, though (at least, that's what it sounded like). Phineas seemed to be incredibly enthousiastic about it.

Oh well, one couldn't be lucky all the time, right? And knowing Candace, he would hear more from it the next day. Honestly, he was pretty sure that there was no woman who could talk more than she did.

* * *

**_~ At Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated ~_**

Should he use the door this time, or the window, Agent P. wondered. Oh, like anyone cared. It was always the same; Doofenshmirtz "surprised" him and captured him. Then, he told him everything about his oh so dark plan, which was followed by a stupid mistake on the doctor's part. Perry was always free again after that, and it always ended with him kicking Doctor Doofenshmirtz's butt. The platypus decided to be nice for a change (even though Doofenshmirtz didn't deserve it) and just barge into the room by using the door, before he would change his mind again.

_BANG!_

Doctor Doofenshmirtz, who had been busy with..._something_, looked up from his work. Surprise was written in his dark eyes.

"Ah, Perry the platypus, as usual your timing is uncanny. And by uncanny, of course I mean... completely canny!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, Perry was trapped in a huge net. Doctor Doofenshmirtz grinned evilly. At last, Perry the Platypus would get what he deserved!

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**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it. Dr. Doofenshmirtz wasn't really planned, but I thought, oh why not? There will be only one more chapter, probably a short one, but I don't know when it will be up. That's why I won't make any promises this time. A review would be very nice. :)**


	3. The Big Surprise

**A/N: Wow, thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites so far! It's really appreciated. And like I already said, I really hadn't expected to get this many for my first P&F story (okay, three-shot, but still). :D And so sorry for the late update, again. I was busy with my finals, and my muse died on me. :( I feel guilty now and I hope I didn't lose readers this way. XD To make it up to you, and especially to fclovesharrypotter since this is only 1 chapter and not longer, I tried to make this chapter an itty bitty longer. Enjoy. ;)**

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_~ That man had clearly lost it... again. ~_

* * *

Doctor Doofenshmirz smirked evilly, in his own famous 'Creepy-and-Crazy-Docter' way, as he looked down at the currently glaring platypus. "Did you really think you could sneak up on me, Perry the Platypus? Then guess again."

As soon as he said that, he pressed a single red button nearby and a very suspenseful beat was heard.

"That's a new gadget I made in my free time. Isn't it great?" the doctor said, obviously happy with it.

Perry made a non-commital noise in response, rolling his eyes at the same time. That man had clearly lost it... again. Or should he say, 'years ago'? What was the difference?

"Hmm... it's at times like this that I find myself wishing that I could speak 'Platypus-ese.' Or maybe platypus-lish, or... Well, you're getting my point," he said swiftly when he noticed that Perry was giving him _that look_. "So now I guess I should tell you about my evil but ingenious plan, hm? Well, since it's Independence Day tomorrow, and the mayor forbade normal people to do anything with firework, I decided to make the Firework-inator. That way, I'm not breaking the rules when this machine writes _'MAYOR DOOFENSHMIRTZ, YOU SUCK!_'"

Wait, so that was his great plan; insulting the mayor by using some stupid machine, instead of doing it himself? Was it just Perry, or did this man really seem to be out of ideas? Well, whatever it was, he couldn't (and shouldn't!) let him get away with this, now could he?

In the following few seconds, two things happened. Perry listened to Doofenshmirtz's endless and rather mindless chatter about how he hated the mayor (who happened to be his succesful brother and his opposite in everything, blah blah _blah_...), because his mother always loved the mayor more than him, while Perry himself silently made his great escape. The latter wasn't that hard, though, seeing that the net the doctor had used to catch him, was made of some material that was even easier to tear than plastic.

What, had he run out of money now, too? Even a rope would have been more effective in this case. Oh well, not that he minded that he was free.

While Doofenshmirtz was still whining about his oh so sad past (honestly, Perry couldn't care less), Perry started to type in something, messing with the Firework-inator. Everything was going well. It was when Perry landed a nice blow on the man's face, or to be more precise, on his nose, that he noticed that the animal was free again.

"_Ow!_ ...Huh? How did you escape? Doesn't matter, because-" Here, he launched himself at the newly invented machine and pressed the big red button that stood out along all the other tiny buttons, "now you're too late. _Hahah_!"

Perry rolled his eyes, practically at the same time that the machine started to make strange, stuttering noises, smoke coming out of it.

Well, this was probably bad news. The thing would probably explode in a few seconds, blowing the place to smithereens. They had to leave this place, now.

Dashing to the only open window, after dragging Doofenshmirtz with him, of course (why he kept saving him from situations like this was beyond his own knowledge), he jumped out of it, opening his parachute. Doctor Doofenshmirtz, however, had let go of him in the meantime, so he landed in a garbage truck.

All in all, this had been a pretty quick mission and Perry was glad for that, and for the fact that he was still alive. It said something, right?

* * *

After everyone had decided that it wasn't important enough to go and search for Perry - after all, it wasn't exactly the first time that the platypus had disappeared quite mysteriously, and he always came back again - Candace and Jeremy headed for the front door.

"So, where are we going?" Candace asked, curiously, rubbing her bare arms with her hands to gain some warmth.

No matter how warm it was during daytime, the nights always seemed to make up for the annoying heatwaves. Maybe she shouldn't have listened to Jeremy not to take her coat with her. Should she go back?

"You'll see soon enough," was all Jeremy wanted to say, after giving her a warm, reassuring smile that only left her more worried.

What could he possibly be planning?

Jeremy quietly shook his head. He thought that it was rather peculiar that she seemed to be more nervous than he was, while he was the one who had to do... something hard in a couple of minutes. Sometimes, he had no idea what she was thinking, but he learned to live with it, since it was part of her charm.

At least Jeremy was right when he said she would see it soon enough; surprisingly enough, their destination was Candace's backyard. However, the backyard looked entirely different from a few hours ago. There was a huge purple tent that covered the place. The entrance of it was open enough for her to see what stood inside of it; some tables with candles standing on top of it, and two unoccupied chairs and... wow, was that an orchestra? That must have cost him a lot of money.

A romantic dinner with candlelight? That was his surprise? Wait... was that why Jeremy had visited Phineas and Ferb today? To ask if it was allowed to do that in their garden? Or did those two help him with setting it all up? Was that why they were acting so strange before, when Jeremy hadn't showed up yet?

Suddenly, it all seemed to make sense. Candace turned her head to give her boyfriend a questioning look.

"A romantic dinner, for just the two of us... You don't like it?"

Oh, how sweet he sounded when he was so unsure of himself. Not that there was any need to, he was amazing. And adorable.

"What? No, no. I _do_ like it, really. I'm just... very surprised, that's all."

Surprised and feeling incredibly guilty for even assuming that Jeremy was seeing another woman behind her back.

...Although this could be fake so she wouldn't get all suspicious.

_Stop it!_ she chastised herself, while following her boyfriend inside.

As soon as they were inside, the orchestra, all consisting of Phineas's and Ferb's friends, started playing a soft, romantic melody. One that she always heard in those movies where the rich girl met a poor boy and slowly fell in love with him... before their cruise ship would sink, because it bumped into a floe.

"Shall we sit here?" Jeremy asked, looking up at his date, who nodded.

Jeremy swiftly pulled the closest chair backwards for her to sit down, like a real gentleman would, before sitting down himself on the other chair.

Meanwhile, the redhead looked around. She had never known that the interior could be designed so stylish, or that her siblings had such a great taste. She should give them some credit here because she couldn't deny the fact that they had done an excellent job. Everything looked spick and span, from the very few lamps that illuminated the place, the soft glow giving it a serene atmosphere.

"So..." Jeremy started, before he got interrupted by Candace.

"Did Phineas and Ferb help you with all this?"

"Yeah. Without them, this place wouldn't have looked this beautiful," he admitted.

_Oh, I knew it! Why am I not surprised? I am so going to tell Mom about this when she gets home. Too bad she forgot to bring her phone with her... which is probably for the first time in her life._

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Jeremy asked, frowning slightly.

"No, of course not," Candace replied swiftly, smiling at him.

As soon as she had said that, Ferb appeared, looking much like an ober in his new clothes. He gave Jeremy a questioning look and Jeremy got the hint.

"Well, we'll take the... hmm..."

Oh, so a simple "_What will be your order, Sir?"_ was too much for him? Just what was it with him and his lack of talking?

"That is an excellent choice, Sir," Ferb suddenly spoke.

Wait... what?

Ferb walked away again, disappearing behind a... door? In a tent? Was she seeing things?

"Wait, don't I get to order something?" Candace asked, perplexed.

"I ordered for the both of us," her boyfriend explained with a small smile. "Are you sure you're okay, Candace?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him once again.

Well, whatever it was that he ordered for her, she trusted him enough to know he had made a good choice, indeed. God, he was always so sweet that he made her feel like she didn't deserve him at all.

She guessed that she could only dream about having a husband like him... or better yet, having him as her husband. Yes, that would definitely be just a dream. She couldn't help but think more and more often about it lately. But then again, they had been together for so long, more than six years. Who could blame her if she wanted more? The only problem was that Jeremy probably didn't think the same here.

This time, it was Phineas's turn to approach them and tell them something. Candace noticed that he was holding two glasses of a yellow substance, probably apple juice, or something like that.

"Hello. Here's your champagne," he said, putting a glass in front of both of them.

Candace couldn't help but notice that he put extra care on which glass he gave to whom, as if it actually mattered. If she didn't know any better, she would think that he was trying to poison her... _Hmm_... Did they have a reason to do that?

"Thank you," Jeremy nodded.

* * *

They had been sitting there for a while, having dinner and sipping from their champagne, when Jeremy suddenly cleared his throat and gave his girlfriend a serious look that instantly made her heart beat faster.

"Candace... there's something I've wanted to tell you for quite a while now. I don't really know how to say this, but..."

Oh no, was he really going to break up with her, after everything they had been through? He had only planned this fun dinner with her to have one last good time with her, before he would tell her why he wanted to break up with her.

So this was it, then?

"Just say it already," she whispered, biting her lower lip and looking away.

As she was waiting to hear the inevitable, that what would break her heart, shattering it into a thousand pieces, her eyes were starting to fill with tears already, fast.

"Candace, what I'm trying to say is that... I love you. Very, very much. And I was wondering-" here he stopped, getting up from his seat and kneeling in front of her. He took her hand in his, pleading, "Could you drink your champagne and empty your glass?"

The woman was truly at a loss of words by now, since she had expected to hear something else from him. "W-what?"

The way he was suddenly acting only made her more confused. What was going on here?

"Trust me. You're going to love this," he assured her with a small smile.

...Or so he hoped.

Still rather dazed, Candace decided to do as she was told. When the glass was almost empty, she gasped. On the bottom of it lay a ring. By the looks of it, it was a beautiful one. She wondered why she hadn't seen it before. Had she really been that worried to overlook it?

_Oh, stupid, stupid, blind, stupid Candace!_

"Jeremy..."

"Candace, will you mar-" the man started, but he was interrupted when something in the sky exploded. They both looked up. Flashes of fireworks seemed to fill every inch of the sky. Rather surprised, the two lovers looked up at the sky, taking in this beautiful moment. Slowly but surely, the firework seemed to form letters, then words, and then sentences.

The text _'CANDACE WILL YOU MARRY ME?_' written in golden sparks, was followed by a shimmering heart.

"Marry me, please. I know that you can make me the happiest man in the world, and I want to make you the happiest woman in the world."

Tearing her eyes away from the letters, she looked at Jeremy and nodded. "I'd love to."

Before his boyfriend-now-fiancee and soon-to-be-husband could say anything else in response, Candace launched herself at him, catching him in a bone-crushing hug. Jeremy almost fell back by the sheer force of it, but by grabbing the table, he was able to keep his balance. He chuckled softly, and Candace couldn't help but laugh along with him. If she had known that this would be the surprise...

At that moment, her mother happened to enter the place as well, in awe. Candace smirked. This was the perfect opportunity to tell them...

"What's happening here?"

"Mom, Phineas and Ferb did this," she said, happy that her mother finally caught them red-handed, after all these years of her mother thinking that she was only hallucinating.

Revenge is always a sweet thing, isn't it?

Unfortunately for Candace, someone else wanted to take that sweetness away, by saying, "Mrs. Flynn, it was actually my idea. I asked for your sons' help to make this an unforgettable event."

"What? Jeremy, you don't have to-" Candace whispered, slightly annoyed, but it was in vain.

"Oh, well, as long as you two clean it all up again, I won't get mad at you two," Linda told her sons, who nodded swiftly. "And why is it that this evening should be unforgettable? Does it have anything to do with the fireworks?"

At once, she forgot about getting annoyed with her fiancee and she exclaimed, "Jeremy proposed to me and I said yes!"

So maybe she shouldn't mind that Phineas and Ferb got away with this, as always. There was always a next time, right?

Linda Flynn's mouth dropped open. The first thing she did was glance down to her hand, only to see that there actually was a ring around her ring finger. In an instant, she stepped up to her daughter to hug her.

"I am so happy for you, sweety! Oh, my daughter grows up so fast. I still remember how you just started walking like it was yesterday..."

"_Mom!"_ Candace muttered, slightly embarrassed.

This would be the start of a happily ever after with the man of her dreams, Candace just knew it.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked, even though I didn't really. I got a little bit inspiration after watching the episode 'She's the Mayor.' I have another P&F story planned, but I think I'll concentrate on other fandoms first. So how did I do for my first P&F story?**

**As for the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy lovers out there, I would really appreciate it if you could vote for my new poll. :)**

**I'd like to give a big Thank You to: Ella Kinkari, Shadowstar556, iluvperry, digigirl02, Kissy Fishy, unGRACEful, DinkyLinkyGirl, fclovesharrypotter, Fizzy Starburst, XxX-SparklingEyes-XxX, Boris Yeltsin, shopgirl152, CommanderApple, BigNeerav, EmyrlRayne, I Tripped Over Reality, Freak, Comment person, UnknownEntity116, MysticaTempest, Phineasandferbluvvah, DestinyCrusader, and last, but not least: phil311.**


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